Jaded Wedding Blues
by OyHumbug
Summary: The girls take Liz to Jake's for a bachelorette party. Too bad the bridetobe can't drink, is bored, and is desperate to talk to someone. What happens when she suggests a friendly little game of truth....and truth? ONE SHOT


_A/N: Obviously, this was written BEFORE the recent, disasterous, gag-me shows, but it was just another way I would have enjoyed the truth to come out. Enjoy! (Word of warning, small details might be off. For example, I have no idea what kind of alcoholic drinks the girls would order. That was purely creative license.)_

Charlynn

**Jaded Wedding Blues**

_Was it truly a bachelorette party if the bride-to-be was just remarrying her estranged husband, and, if it was, how was it fair that she was the only one not allowed to drink at the fête that was being held in her name? Why would they bring her to a bar when they knew, at six months pregnant, she couldn't get smashed as they were proceeding to do? How was it that her supposed best friends in the whole world could not tell that celebrating her upcoming wedding was the last thing she wanted to do? Were they totally oblivious to her feelings? Why couldn't she get **him** off of her mind…even for one night; why did **his** piercing blue eyes haunt her wherever she went? How was she supposed to go through with marrying a man she didn't love, a man she was just starting to realize she hadn't been in love with since she was a teenager?_

_Happy freaking bachelorette party to me,_ Elizabeth Webber wished herself as she chugged another deep gulp of her third bottle of water. She was going to have hell to pay for eating peanuts from the bowls sitting before her and then downing drink after drink of the clear, non-alcoholic beverage. First, her feet were going to swell from all the salt on the peanuts and then she'd never be able to sleep that night, for she would have to go to the bathroom every five minutes from all the water, but, sitting there in a dimly lit Jake's with the saddest songs imaginable playing on the old juke box, there was nothing else for her to do.

Lainey had her vodka and cranberry juice…minus the juice for Jake's didn't serve it, Kelly just had beer, but she was already on her fourth of the night and quickly approaching her next, Robin had scotch on the rocks, like father like daughter, Emily apparently had picked up a few things from Nikolas and was nursing her second tumbler of brandy, and there she was, little Lizzie, the blushing, _more like_ _cynical_, bride-to-be with nothing to dull the pain or take the edge of her crushing guilt and regret.

She had so much she needed to say, so much she needed to confide in someone, but there was no one there who would listen, no one there who she could tell. Her four friends were absorbed in their own conversations, discussing their boyfriends and their jobs, the latest sensation at Wyndhams, which she couldn't wear, and making plans to go out dancing the next weekend, something else she couldn't do. While they were all excited about their lives and their loves, she was miserable, and no one seemed to notice. It wasn't that she wanted to drag their moods down, but she just needed a release, and silently mulling over her thoughts by herself just wasn't cutting it.

Looking around the stained table, Elizabeth suddenly had an idea. What if she could get her friends interested in what she had to say, talk about what was bothering her, and not have to worry about them remembering her shockingly candid confessions in the morning? As Robin tipped her head at the bartender signaling they required another round, she knew that the four women were all on their way to being pleasantly smashed, and, as long as she kept them there and drinking, they'd wake up the next day with such a bad hangover, her shared secrets would be the last thing on their minds.

"We need to liven this party up," she announced, smirking to herself in an all knowing manner. "What do you girls say to a game, a game of truth? I can't accept any dares because of the baby, but I sure can tell you an embarrassing story or an unknown fact about myself." When they seemed hesitant, she pushed. "Come on, how many times does this kind of opportunity come your way? I'm giving you the chance to ask me anything, and I have to answer honestly, no matter what, and am not allowed to hold anything back."

"Anything," a skeptical Kelly asked her, quirking her eyebrow up in a silent challenge. "We can ask you anything?"

Elizabeth simply responded with a smug, "try me," and waited for the questions to fly.

"I'm game," Robin announced, leaning her elbows on the table to rest her chin against her hands. "I'll start you out easy. Boy or girl?"

"It's a girl," she answered quickly. _Boy these girls did not know how to play this game._

Always the obstetrician, Kelly asked, "and how can you tell?"

"She feels different than Cam did. Plus, her Daddy's made to have a baby girl, so he can spoil her. I swear, as soon as he's around me, she starts kicking. She's already Daddy's little princess."

"That's right," Emily pointed out with an excited smile, "Lucky is practically foaming at the mouth to have a daughter, so he can name her after Laura."

The petite, petulant, and pregnant brunette merely snorted in response. _If only they knew…_, she mused to herself, stifling a wicked chuckle. But it was too soon to let that secret slip. They weren't drunk enough, and she was building the anticipation up for her grand reveal. "Alright, next question," she pushed them, eager to raise the stakes. She could already feel her adrenaline starting to escalate.

"Oh, I have one," Lainey interjected. "If you could go anywhere in the world for your honeymoon, where would you go?"

"Italy."

"Why Italy," Lainey pressed.

"Because the light there is different than anywhere else in the world," Elizabeth answered, aware of the fact that a soft, nostalgic, longing gleam was illuminating her sapphire orbs but not caring enough to disguise it. "And because I've been offered the chance to go on a silver platter, all expenses paid, twice, and, both times, I blindly turned the offers down out of some foolish loyalty that should have ended years ago." Laughing self deprecatingly, she added, "plus, I think it's kind of fitting to go to the place where condoms were invented on one's honeymoon."

The four women, despite their inebriated conditions, evidently realized that the topic of Italy was a depressing one for her, so they graciously dropped it even though several of them were curious just as to whom had been so generous towards Elizabeth in the past.

"What's been the greatest triumph in your life," Emily asked her and then proceeded to watch her best friend roll her eyes.

"Em, of all people you should know that. My children are my greatest triumph, no competition."

"How about your biggest regret then," Robin questioned.

"For bailing," Elizabeth replied simply, "for walking away from the man I loved when he made a mistake and for not giving him a second chance."

"But you did give Lucky a second chance," Kelly pointed out, reaching across the table to squeeze her friend, co-worker, and patient's hand. "And now look, the two of you are more in love than ever and getting remarried."

_That's what you think, _the blue eyed, young mother snapped at her friend silently in her head, _…for now._ The next round of drinks were delivered, and each of the four already tipsy women started sipping on them as soon as they were placed in their greedy, little hands. "You guys really suck at this game," Elizabeth taunted them. "You're supposed to ask me questions that make me squirm, questions that put me in the hot seat, not questions that my Grandmother could answer for me without blushing."

"I have a question for you then," Emily announced. "It's something that I've wondered about for a long time." As soon as she saw her friend wave her hand to give her permission to continue, she inquired, "just how together were you with my brother?" _Now we're talking,_ Elizabeth smiled in expectation. _Just the man I wanted to discuss._ "Did you love him?"

"I did."

"And did he love you," the medical student pressed.

"I think he did."

"Who cares about the emotional connection the two of you shared, Jason's hot," Lainey pointed out, "I want to hear about the physical. Did you sleep with him?"

"Hey," Emily cried out, "this is my brother we're talking about here! I do not need to be traumatized, and anything that leads to a visual is strictly prohibited."

"The _cynical_ bride giggled. "I have to answer the question, Em; it's clearly stated in the rules, so what will it be? Do you prefer the forthright truth or veiled, cliché sports metaphors?"

"You're using words that are too big," Robin complained, her voice slightly slurred and whiny due to all the alcohol she had consumed. "And I vote for giving it to us straight. If we really wanted to horrify her, we could compare stories, Jason Morgan sex stories."

"That's enough," Emily yelled, moving to cover her ears. Grimacing, she instructed, "just answer with a simple yes or no."

"Oh, yeah!" Elizabeth purposely exaggerated her words, drawling them out and adding erotic innuendoes to them, and she had to laugh at her best friend when she immediately downed her entire glass of brandy in one gulp and raised her hand to call for another.

"Best sex of your life," Kelly called out. Apparently, the girls were finally getting the hang of the game, and Elizabeth was finally starting to enjoy herself. Her wedding to Lucky the next day was the last thing on her mind.

"I can't hear this," Emily announced, standing up abruptly from her chair. Stumbling slightly to the bar, she decided to take the direct approach at refilling her drink.

"Well, the second best sex of my life was with Jason," the expecting mother revealed, "but the ultimate, toes curling, multiple orgasm sexual experience of my life had to be with none other than….Jason Morgan." She couldn't help it; she had to laugh at the annoyed expressions on her friends' faces. Teasing them like that was wicked but too damn easy to turn down. After a moment, the women had digested the information, and Elizabeth watched as General Hospital's resident psychiatrist turned towards Robin and quirked a finely groomed brow at her.

"So, in your professional opinion, Miss Scorpio, do you concur with Miss Webber's opinion about the sexual prowess of our resident mob enforcer?"

"Alleged mob enforcer," Elizabeth corrected her.

"Besides the fact that I think you just called me a hooker," Robin responded, answering her friend's question with one of her own, "what did I say about using big words?"

"Just tell us if Jason was as good in bed when you were with him as Elizabeth claims," Kelly simplified the query.

"Do you know how people say he's the best at what he does," the thoracic surgeon replied, "well they're not just talking about his skills at eliminating potential threats in Sonny's organization."

"Alleged skills at eliminating potential threats in Sonny's alleged organization," Elizabeth, once again, piped in, grinning crookedly when her three companions glared at her momentarily before turning back to Robin.

"But it's been a while since the two of you were together," Lainey pointed out. "Do you think he's gotten better?" Twisting in her seat to refocus her attention upon the bride-to-be, she asked, "how long ago was it that the two of you were together?"

"Time is a relative thing," the sapphire orbed minx answered. "It feels as if a long time has passed since I spent the night with him, but, in reality, it's been just a few months."

"What," they all exclaimed loudly, garnering a few curious glances from the other patrons at the bar, and even Emily, despite her aversion to any conversation where her brother's sex life was discussed, found herself drawn back to the table.

"It was mid-August actually," Elizabeth continued as if she was simply talking to herself. They had finally reached the part of her life she needed to discuss with someone, but, as soon as the words startled tumbling out of her rouged mouth, everyone else around her faded to black. All that mattered were the memories and the feelings they invoked in her. "I was hurting and so was Jason, but it wasn't just about easing our pain or getting back at the people who had cheated on us; it was about finally being with each other after dancing around our feelings for seven years. The penthouse was hot, sultry, and our bodies were slick with sweat before he even touched me, and he had the balcony doors open, letting in the balmy night air to caress our skin while we made love, not once but twice. The best part though was waking up the next morning nestled securely against his chest, his arms wrapped around me, and it was as if that simple embrace could protect me from the rest of the world. I'd never felt more beautiful in my life."

"Liz," Lainey spoke up, her voice soft with concern for her friend, "do you have feelings again for Jason?"

"Not again," she corrected, "they never went away." Looking around the table, the young mother stared at each of her four friends in turn, observing their various reactions to her momentous reveal. Emily looked worried as if she was scared for her friend, Robin just looked shell shocked with wide eyes and gaping mouth, Lainey appeared smug and collected, making Elizabeth think that perhaps she had suspected something all along, and Kelly looked deep in thought, her usually quick witted mind struggling to make basic conclusions. However, despite their different reactions, no one ventured to say a word. She had effectively shocked them into silence.

Several minutes passed by, and another round of drinks arrived at the table only to be downed as quickly as the four health professionals could get them to their lips. After a while, still without a word said between the women, Robin, the obvious light weight of the group, put her head down upon the table only to fall asleep moments later.

"I'm going to go call us a cab," Emily announced, managing to stand up. "Kelly, will you…."

"Yeah, I'm coming" the obstetrician replied following the younger woman out of the bar and leaving Elizabeth with a pensive Lainey and a snoring Robin.

"It's Jason's baby, isn't it," Lainey realized. It wasn't a question or even a guess; her powerful words were expressed in an all-knowing statement, and the petite brunette knew she didn't have to answer. So, instead, she simply sat there waiting for whatever her friend said next. "What do you want, Liz; who do you want?" When the mother-to-be just sat there watching her with wide, frightened, tear filled blue eyes, she encouraged her to answer. "I want you to close your eyes and try to picture in your mind what the perfect day for you would be like, and then, when you have the image in your head, I want you to just say the first thing you think of. Don't hold back. This will remain just between the two of us….unless Robin has the ability to perceive and remember things while she sleeps, but, judging by the rather large pile of drool forming under her mouth, I think she's just as ordinary as the rest of us."

"I don't have to close my eyes or try to picture the perfect day, I've dreamt of it a thousand times already." Sighing contentedly, a smile, warm, loving, and hopeful, caressed her beautiful face as the worry and regret left her eyes to be replaced with mirth and amusement. "Uncharacteristically, the kids would let us sleep in, and I'd wake up in the morning with the bright, summer sun shining across my sheet clad body, and the first thing I would feel would be **his **arms wrapped snuggly around my nude form. **He** would kiss me good morning, slide out of bed to slip on a pair of pajama bottoms, and go down to the kitchen to make coffee while I put my nightgown back on from the night before. Surprising me, **he **would bring the kids with him when he returned, and we'd spend the morning in bed, laughing, talking, and making plans for the day. That afternoon, because **he** didn't have to work, we'd take the kids to the park and have a picnic. While I watched our daughter as she slept, taking her nap, **he** would play ball with Cam, encouraging him and making my little boy feel like the most important kid in the world as only **he** can. That night, Gram would volunteer to watch the kids for us so we could have some alone time, and, after a long ride in the moonlight, we'd go back home where we would paint….each other." So engrossed with her fantasy, Elizabeth never noticed her two friends approach from behind her and stop to quietly listen to her dream….or the man who was frozen in place watching her from afar, his lips curling into a slight grin at the sound of her shy, flirtatious giggles. "Oh course, after painting each other, we'd have to take a shower together to wash the paint from our bodies. **His** gentle, work worn hands would caress my body, rinsing away the deep, bright hues smeared upon it, and I would return the favor. When we were finished, long after the water had turned cold, **he** would carry me in his arms to our bed, the bed we would spend our most intimate moments in, the bed we would conceive our future children, and we would make love long into the night, perhaps even creating another blue eyed miracle from our unquenchable desire for one another. That is my perfect day," she concluded; "that is what I want."

"Who though, Elizabeth," Lainey urged her. "Who is he; who do you want?"

"He's Jason," the young mother answered without any hesitation, without any doubt, without any remorse. As if her eyes were drawn away from the table, her gaze moved across the bar until it connected with the strong, silent, sandy blonde haired man who was listening to her every word, hanging upon every syllable of her confession, every slight nuance of her glowing face. "It's always been Jason."


End file.
